Method of making an arch support



May 12, 1936. v s KUBECK 2,040,143 I METHOD OF MAKING AN ARCH SUPPORT Filed March 2, 1955 WITNESSES: I N V EN TOR: W 5TEPHE-N Kusacx Patented May 12, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to arch supports, and has for an object to provide a new and. improved type of arch support and method of making the same.

A further object of the invention is to provide an arch support, the supporting part of which is composed of rawhide or the like, with improved treatment during the making whereby leather or other facing material may be attached thereto.

It is well known that rawhide has a greasy consistency which makes the attaching thereto, by any type of cementitious material, difficult or impossible. The present invention is directed to overcoming this tendency of the rawhide, whereby a finishing or facing material of leather or other material may be attached thereto and remain fixed.

A further object of the invention is to mold rawhide while in a wetted and soaked condition, and while still wet and absorptive, to apply some cementitious material, such for instance as glue, thereto, to be absorbed into the porous structure of the rawhide as the rawhide dries, and then applying such facing material as may be required to the thus treated surface.

This invention, therefore, comprises the method of making an arch support and the arch support resulting from the practice of the method, the method being soaking of rawhide until soft, pliable and moldable, then molding the rawhide to the required shape, and while still in absorptive condition, to apply to the surface thereof, animal glue or other approved adhesive material, and drying the molded and coated rawhide into the required shape, then applying to the treated surface one or more sheets of leather or other facing material, for appearance, comfort and finish.

The drawing illustrates an embodiment of the invention and the views therein are as follows:

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of the initially molded rawhide,

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the rawhide molded article with a coating of leather applied thereto,

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the completed article showing two thicknesses of leather applied to the rawhide, and

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

The use of rawhide for construction of articles requiring stiffness and resiliency has been very considerably limited by the resistance of the rawhide to taking any kind of finish. The rawhide itself is unattractive in appearance, and for appearance, as well as comfort, some type of finish is necessary.

The present invention consists in first molding a sheet of rawhide to the required shape. Such an example of shape is shown at Figure 1. The shape will, of course, depend entirely upon the requirement, and it is to be understood that 10 Figure 1, as well as the other figures of the drawing, are merely shown by way of illustration and without any limitation upon the invention.

The molding of the rawhide is effected by first soaking the rawhide until soft and pliable, then 15 molding over a form to the required shape. According to the present invention, the rawhide form molded, as at ill, or in any required shape, is, while still absorptive, treated with an adhesive material. It has been found that animal glue is 20 an approved material for the purpose, but the invention is not limited thereto. After the form thus treated with the adhesive has been dried, a covering of thin, rough and porous leather or the like, shown at H, is applied, fitted down to the 25 form. This porous leather is applied by means of an adhesive, the coating upon the rawhide lending itself to this operation.

The arch support may be used in this form, but for the purpose of appearance, and also com- 30 fort, a second layer of leather I2 is applied, which may and preferably will be smooth-finished leather. The application of this sheet of leather permits the use of padding when the occasion requires. At l3 such a padding is indicated. The 35 padding, as indicated at [3, is, or may be sponge rubber or other material, and the position and.

shape of this padding, or its use at all, is not a necessary feature of the invention, but also illustrated to show that such padding may be 40 inserted between the porous leather H and the finished leather l2.

The rigidity and resiliency of rawhide is already well known, and need not be enlarged upon. The finished support will, therefore, embody all 45 of the desirable features of the rawhide and all of the finish and appearance of other well known types of arch supports.

Of course, the arch support illustrated may be modified and changed in various ways without 50 departing from the invention herein set forth and. hereinafter claimed.

I claim:

1. The method of making an arch support consisting in molding a soaked sheet of rawhide to 55 the required form, treating the molded rawhide with an adhesive material while still absorptive, and applying a finishing coating to the treated surface.

2. The method of making an arch support consisting in molding a sheet of soaked rawhide to the required form, applying to the rawhide while in absorptive condition a coating of glue, and applying to the glue. treated surface a leather by 10 the use of an adhesive.

3. The method of making an arch support consisting in molding a sheet of soaked rawhide to the required form, treating the surface of the rawhide with a glue while still in absorptive condition, applying a sheet of porous leather to the treated surface by the use of an adhesive, and applying a second finishing sheet of leather to the porous leather by the use of adhesive. 

